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LED company Lighting Science Group and the National Park Service have opened a net-zero visitor center (pictured) in Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, the first of its kind in the nearly 400 parks that make up the national parks system.

Named for the congressman who introduced legislation to create the recreation area in 1978, the Anthony C. Beilenson Visitor Center at the King Gillette Ranch is LEED-Platinum certified, produces all of its energy through a 94 kW photovoltaic solar energy system and replaces traditional lighting options with Lighting Science Group’s energy efficient LED technology.

The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act provided $9.5 million in funding for the center’s construction; all materials, including Lighting Science Group’s PAR38 lamps, are American-made.

In other LED news, uranium producer Cameco Corporation has replaced more than 973 HID wall packs in its McArthur River and Cigar Lake mines with Cooper Lighting’s LED lamps. Cooper Lighting’s Lumark Wal-Pak LED Series has reduced Cameco’s energy consumption for its lighting systems by about 86 percent in the two mines, the companies said.

Additionally, the Chicago-area Grand Victoria Casino has installed several thousand LEDnovation lamps for a savings of more than 66,000 watts, according to the lighting company.

The worldwide market for LED lighting fixtures (excluding retrofit lamps) as of the first half of 2012 is about $8 billion, equal to more than 10 percent of the worldwide consumption, according to a report by Global Information, Inc. The report says yearly growth was about 70 percent during 2011.

Earlier this week, Verizon announced it has replaced more than 30,000 existing 50-watt and 37-watt halogen spotlights with LED lamps at locations across the US, among other energy efficiency improvements. The retrofits are part of Verizon’s six-year strategic relationship with EPA’s Energy Star, a voluntary program that promotes reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.